Akul looked at Maruti with a dumbfounded expression. Aarav looked at Akul and then asked Maruti a question on his behalf, "What do you mean by 'having the power of gods'?". Maruti answered, "That comes later, to understand that, I will first tell you about how the Universe works and I am not talking about science". Both Akul and Aarav looked at each other and nodded. Maruti continued, "So the first thing you need to understand is that are is a certain condition for existing as a god or a demigod that exists in a universe, First, those whose existence as gods solely relies on their tales, as long as their tales are in circulation among the humans and as long as even one human believes in them and is devoted to them, they will continue to exist". Akul asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Will they cease to exist completely if they are forgotten about?"
"No", replied Maruti, "They will only stop existing as gods, in other words, they will become mortal, As most of them can't even be touched but even if a being with divine energy is killed they are only killed in the physical sense, their aatma or soul is not extinguished rather their physical form is manifested again after some time. So, the foremost and the most important condition for being a god is having divine energy which is obtained from the circulation of tales, stories, and myths about oneself on a large scale. All gods are bound by this restriction" Akul and Aarav listened intently. Maruti continued, "Now, there are some exceptions to this are the gods that represent the physical aspects of the universe like water, fire, heat energy, different celestial bodies et cetera, even if their tales as gods are forgotten due to their physical manifestation, they will still retain most of their power, one more exception is the title of 'Indra', the title of King of demigods, as the divine energy and powers come from the title the individual will only have those powers and energy as long as they carry that title. The next exception is that of The Holy Trinity or The Trimurti, to understand that you must understand how they came into being". Maruti paused to take a sip of his juice and to let the boys grasp the knowledge that he was imparting. Maruti continued, "Understand that what I am about to tell you may resemble the Big Bang theory of modern science and that the Trimurtis are formless and have physical forms as well, they do not come into existence as humans do, and they are present in a limited form in our universe as to not disturb the balance of powers, and that nobody, even among the gods know how they came to exist, so I'll just tell you the most accepted theory on how they came to be". Akul and Aarav replied in unison, "Understood".
"Alright then", saying this Maruti once again continued, "In the beginning, before you, me, humans, gods, planets and even the cosmos was nothing. Only one being existed The Parabrahma, The Supreme God, full of cosmic energy called Shakti, from them originated two cosmic forces, Purusha, the masculine energy of the cosmos, and Prakriti, The feminine energy of the cosmos. From Purusha came Vishnu, the protector, and Prakriti radiated the same cosmic energy, Shakti. Vishnu gave birth to Brahma, The creator, through his navel on a lotus head, and on that lotus head, Brahma, thought of creating the Brahmanda or The cosmos, He created the cosmos beautifully and systematically, He created the universe in a shell of cosmic energy with 14 lokas or realms, at the bottom of which rested Vishnu on The Anantashesha, The endless snake, which carried the 14 lokas on its head, which was surrounded by a great, vast and divine ocean.
Once Vishnu and Brahma got into an argument about who was the true god, suddenly a pillar of flames appeared in front of them, from that pillar, a voice said, "Whoever finds the end of the pillar shall be called the true god, Brahma went up to search for one end and Vishnu went the opposite, both were not able to find the end, both returned empty-handed, but since Brahma did not want to be inferior, he lied and said that he did find an end, Suddenly from the pillar of fire emerged an enraged Shiva, the destroyer. Since he was beyond time and space itself and had been in a state of meditation and tapasya for a long time, he had amassed much energy from it, he used that energy to curse Brahma, saying, "Brahma, You who lie just to feel superior, cannot be the true god, and from this moment onwards no being shall worship you" he then turned to Vishnu and said, "You were humble and accepted your shortcomings, you are the true god". Vishnu and Brahma both joined their hands and bowed in front of Shiva as he was a force to be reckoned with, He had no beginning or end, He existed beyond time and within every moment of it. And that's how the Trimurti that is Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the protector, and Shiva, the destroyer came to be. And due to them being such powerful beings, they can only be weakened a bit by making them forgotten but they will always remain gods as they exist within the very fabric of the cosmos". Akul and Aarav stared at Maruti with their jaws open, trying to comprehend that, a tale that was just a myth to them until a few hours ago, was the reality of their world. Dipali looked at their expression and said, "Close your mouths, idiots". Maruti said, "We still have a lot to cover and we need to also discuss how all this relates to you, but seeing your reaction I will give you some time to comprehend, so we shall start again, in about thirty minutes or so. Akul and Aarav gulped nervously, uncertain what they would hear next.